Backlash in Equality and Human rights: How it manifests in the School System

The symposium, Backlash in Equality and Humar Rights: Manifestations in the School System, will take place on Monday, May 4, from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM in the aula, main hall of the University of Iceland. The symposium will also be streamed.

The symposium is part of the University of Iceland School of Education's lecture series, Efst á baugi, and is conducted in collaboration with academics from the Faculty of Education and Diversity and the Faculty of Subject Teacher Education at the University of Iceland.

In recent years, the notion of “backlash” has gained prominence in public debates on equality. In its simplest form, backlash appears as a set of systemic discourses circulating through the media, popular culture, politics, and marketing. These discourses work to diminish or delegitimise the progress achieved in areas such as gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, the rights of people of foreign origin, and other marginalised groups. Backlash becomes visible when advances in equality are no longer recognised as progress but reframed as a threat or a burden, and when the very groups advocating for equality are held responsible for perceived problems. In Iceland, such backlash has been particularly evident in relation to teaching, schooling, and work with young people. This symposium will explore different dimensions of backlash in education, school practices, and youth contexts. The presentations will offer examples of the systemic patterns that undermine equality within the Icelandic education system and discuss how the progress achieved in recent years can be safeguarded.

Schedule

15:00 - The Nordic Education Model under pressure – Backlash in Education, Berglind Rós Magnúsdóttir, professor at the Faculty of Education and Diversity.

15:15 - European record holder in gender inequality? On boys and other students in the Icelandic school system. Íris Ellenberger, professor and Katrín Ólafsdóttir, associate professor, both at the Faculty of Subject Teacher Education.

15:30 - In a cycle of racial progress and institutional resistance - Elizabeth Lay, doctoral student at the Faculty of Education and Diversity.

15:45 - Algorithms, backlash, and the gender system - Þórður Kristinsson doctoral student at SoE and high school teacher.

16:00 - Panel Discussion

16:30 - Closing of the Session - Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, rector of University of Iceland.

All are welcome!